Shipping traffic came to a standstill Sunday and Monday as Coast Guard officials worked to battle an ice jam in the St. Clair River.

Four Coast Guard cutters traveled to the area to free vessels stuck in the ice.

“Freighter” Frank Frisk, a maritime consultant at the Great Lakes Maritime Center in Port Huron, said 16 to 18 ships were delayed Sunday night because of the ice.

He said brash ice — which occurs when ice layers on top of itself — was to blame for jamming the river.

“It’s a mess down there,” Frisk said late Monday afternoon.

Vessels were stopped from Lake St. Clair to Lake Huron, he said. Cutters Penobscot Bay, Neah Bay, Bristol Bay — all 140 feet in length — and the 225-foot Hollyhock worked throughout the day to get the river flowing.

After 6 p.m., the Coast Guard cutters called it a night. The Bristol Bay headed back to Detroit for the night, while the Neah Bay and Penobscot Bay tied up in Algonac, Frisk said.

To read more…